Geophysics professor Martyn Unsworth is part of an international team of researchers who say they may be "witnessing the development of a new supervolcano.
Those are the words of Shanaka de Silva of Oregon State University, a geologist working with PLUTONS, a research project that is studying Uturuncu Volcano in Southern Bolivia. De Silva was commenting in a New York Times article that stated, "Satellite measurements show that the hill has been rising more than half an inch a year for almost 20 years, suggesting that the volcano, which last erupted more than 300,000 years ago, is steadily inflating."
The report goes on to note the University of Alberta role in the project:
"Martyn Unsworth, a geophysicist at the University of Alberta in Canada and a member of the Plutons team, studied data from 20 days of fieldwork in November using magnetotellurics, a remote radio-wave-sensing method similar to CT scanning in the human body. The findings suggested a zone of low electrical resistivity far below the surface 'that is likely a magma chamber,' he said."
University of Alberta research has shown that the magma body is at a depth of 10-15 km. Growth of this magma body is causing the surface uplift. Ongoing research will determine if this could lead to a super volcano eruption, or is just a short-lived period of magma intrusion.
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http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/14/science/a-fascinating-growth-spurt-at-the-uturuncu-volcano-in-bolivia.html